The Ropers

This is a pretty good spin-off from Three's Company, where the kids' landlords, Stanley and Helen Roper, sold their apartment building and moved into a new house.

The Ropers have the same dynamic as they had in Three's Company, and it was fun seeing them deal with their neighbors and visiting relatives. Not too keen on Jeffrey Tambor's character though - seems only a one dimensional character with no redeeming qualities.

I do enjoy the guest appearances of the Three's Company characters - makes you feel like you're watching that show again. Quite an entertaining show - too bad it didn't last longer.

Grade B

Back in the good old days, when "Three's Company" had just come on the air, there were plenty of laughs around for Jack, Janet and Chrissy. But it was the crotchety, nosy landlords Stanley and Helen Roper (Fell and Lindley) who got the big guffaws for their live-action version of "the Lockhorns". They were a riot.

So, naturally, they got their own series titled, logically, "The Ropers". Having moved out of the apartment complex, they move into a duplex owned by the EXTREMELY stuffy Jeffrey P. Brooks III (Tambor, who was terrific) and his not-as-stuffy wife (McCormack). Eventually, it was the Ropers' turn to be spied on by a suspicious neighbor.

The first few episodes of this series were great, as Fell and Lindley expanded on their corrosive repartee from the original series. Then, adding Tambor as a humorless foil to their slobbery and the double-entendres that occurred when guests would drop by (usually, Jack, Janet or Crissy) every so often, made things even more hilarious.

But it was too good to last; the writing kind of slacked off as they attempted to make the ever-bickering Ropers more understanding and sensitive to each other. This, of course, entirely missed to point to their appeal; the constant bickering was their only form of communication and, by and large, the only way they could possibly stay together. Take that away, and what do you have left? Not too much else.

A conversation I'll always remember is when Stanley (Fell) is complaining that something Helen (Lindley) was doing was effeminate. Her comeback - "I AM effeminate - just like you're emasculate." Cue laugh track.

Well, I'll always remember the good parts of "The Ropers", anyway.

Six stars for "The Ropers" - the best neighbors you could ever have - move away, that is.

The Ropers were spun off of Three's Company after the third season. This spin-off actually fared better than the later spin-off Three's a Crowd in 1984, lasting roughly two seasons versus TAC's one season.

I personally find the Ropers (the show) to be very funny and humorous. Sure, it didn't have the sexual innuendos or physical comedic value that its parent series did but it had plenty of misunderstandings to make it a pleasant watch.

Jeffrey Tambor excels as Jeffrey P. Brookes III, the snooty and high-brow real estate agent that ends up being the Ropers' neighbor. His wife Anne is very down-to-earth and genuine, making friends with Helen Roper instantly. But it's no surprise that Brookes and Roper wouldn't get along with Roper being very unsophisticated and Brookes the opposite. Roper and Brookes are funny to watch but they can't hold the series up by themselves.

An ambitious effort from Norman Fell and Audra Lindley as they portrayed the hilarious landlord couple Stanley and Helen Roper from the hit series Three's Company. In the spin off show, Stanley and Helen moved from their Santa Monica apartment to the upscale neighbourhood called Cheviott Hills and their new neighbour was not fond of having them as part of the community. The show just didn't seem to be as good as Three's Company. Stanley and Helen were better as supporting cast members rather than as series leads. The cast was small including Jeffrey Tambor as the neighbour Jeffrey P. Brooks III. He's not a likable character, but his dislike towards Stanley and his quirks behind closed doors made the show funny. Recurring cast included Helen's troublemaker sister Ethel, and her mother; these two characters did not appear on Three's Company.

Decent at most, "The Ropers" is a spin off to the ABC hit sitcom "Three's Company". The show is based off the British series "George & Mildred", which itself is a spin off of the series " Man About the House" the series "Three's" is based off of.

Stanley and Helen Roper have sold their apartment and move to a townhouse in upscale Cheviot Hills. Their neighbor the pompous stuffed shirt Jeffrey P. Brooks is also their real estate agent. Played to hilarious perfection by Jeffrey Tambor. Brooks is a married man with a child, at times his personality clashes with Stanley's and it's up to his wife Anne (Patty McCormack) and Helen to calm their spouses down. At the same time Helen deals with her snobbish sibling Ethel and her forgetful mother.

Some of the episodes are exact copies of the "George & Mildred" story lines. Much like "Three's" the series had special guest stars, and even introduced a certain actress named Stevie"Louise"Vallance who would later be one of the pioneers in Canadian animation. Unfortunately just as the series had finally found its footing ABC pulled the plug, citing bad ratings. Audra Lindley and Norman Fell both were hesitant to do this series, in fact Norman would only agree if the show flopped and he could return to "Three's", the producers decided to make the show go a season and a half and resulting in the agreement being null and void. Overall, the series was a valiant attempt but it proved that sometimes supporting cast members can not make it on their own.